I Want You to Need Me
by heartnut
Summary: What will happen when the Sailor Scouts discover that the song that Serena is going to be singing in the school talent show is just what Darien needs to hear? Set in the R Season, right after Rini appears.


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I Want You to Need Me  
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by: heartnut

"Can you believe that Serena is going to sing that song for the Talent Show? Luna, are you sure that is the song?" Raye asked her best friend's guardian feline. It was Monday, and the four girls, Ami, Mina, Lita, and Raye, were having a secret meeting after school without Serena, who had to go to detention that day. They were listening to one of the Top Ten songs on the American Contemporary Chart as they talked about Serena.

Luna preened on her pillow, saying, "Oh, yes. She's been playing this song over and over for the past three days, memorizing the words, studying the inflections and everything else about it. Frankly, I'm sick of the song now! Please turn it off..."

Mina spoke up as she turned down the radio. "Okay, this is going to be our best opportunity to get Serena and Darien together again! We'd better jump at the chance! You KNOW they belong together! We HAVE to get Darien in the audience somehow on Thursday night... but how?"

"Why don't we just ask him to go with one of us?" Ami asked from her side of the low table.

"That's a start..." Mina the Matchmaker pondered, leaning forward on the table. "He might fall for it... if it's a last resort thing for one of us... Idea... Who wants to be the pathetic one who can't get a date that night?"

"I'll do it."

Everyone looked dumbfounded over at the speaker. It was Lita.

"Well, I always wnated to go on a date with Darien. He IS drop dead gorgeous still, you know? I wonder what I'll wear..."

Everyone sweatdropped, and began to plan the rest of the trap.

&

"Darien! You have got to stay!" Lita hissed, tugging the tall, dark-haired guy down into his chair. It was Thursday Night, the night of the Talent Show.

Darien threw himself back into the auditorium chair uneasily, leaning over toward Lita to mumble, "I have GOT to go, Lita! I have a History exam tomorrow! It's eight o'clock; it's time for me to go!"

Lita looked back at him, an apology in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Darien, but you have GOT to stay with me, because... Ami hasn't done her reading yet, remember? That's why I wanted to come!" _Whew! I almost lost him! Raye would have killed me..._

Darien sighed and eased back in the hard auditorium seat, defeated. _I can't believe that I said I would come to this with her..._

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Two days before (Tuesday)  
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Darien was sitting in the Crown Arcade drinking his afternoon coffee when Lita and Ami rushed through the door, practically bursting out of their skin about some news that was obviously too great to keep secret.

"What's gotten into you two?" he asked, turning around in the chair with his coffee mug in his hand.

Lita spoke up between giggles, saying, "Ami is going to be in the Talent Show! She's going to do a Dramatic Reading from Homer's Odyssey!"

"Yes, I am," Ami added. "I've never done anything like this before, and I'm really excited!"

_Hmm..._ Darien leaned back against the counter. _I've never known Ami to get so excited about something like this before..._

Ami, of course, was lying through her teeth about being excited! But she had to do this... for Serena's sake. _Serena is going to owe me big-time for this... even if she doesn't know it..._ she thought, as she said aloud, "It's in two days, do you think that you could make it, Darien?"

"Two days!" Lita practically jumped out of her skin with astonishment. "I thought that I had more time than that!" 

"Well, no, Lita," Ami said matter-of-factly. "It's on Thursday night at seven, you will be there, won't you?"

Now, it was Lita's turn to lie... "Well, I don't think I can go. I don't want to be walking back all alone after your performance. It'll be late, and I don't have time to get a date now!" Lita exclaimed, her eyes becoming downcast.

Darien spoke up finally, "Well, can't you just wait for Ami after the show and have her walk back with you?"

"Well, I have to be backstage at school from five until about eleven that night, so it really wouldn't be worth Lita's time to stay. She'd have nothing to do! So, yes, she needs a date for the evening," Ami said. 

"Can't you ask one of the other girls to go with you?" Darien asked nonchalantly, sipping his coffee.

Lita and Ami exchanged glances quickly, and responded at the same time,  
"Mina has to stay at home and study..."  
"Raye has to stay at the temple and clean it from top to bottom..."

And then, they said together, "and Serena has to cook that night for the family!"

They looked at each other with a glance that said 'How-believable-is-that?'. Oh, well. It was too late to take it back. So, Lita boldly went ahead with the plan. "Darien? Do you think that you could be my date?"

Darien looked at her, wide-eyed, "M-m-me?"

"No, the mouse on the counter behind you who is also named Darien," Lita said sarcastically. "Of course, you, silly! Do you care to? I really need an escort to get home, and it won't be too too late. The show is supposed to be over at 9:30. Please, Darien?" She gave the puppy-dog look, hoping that it would work. _Oh, dear. I'm begging him to take me, practically! Serena REALLY owes me!_

Darien, oblivious to the scheme behind the date, finally agreed to go, not knowing why he did so, but doing it nonetheless. "Oh... all right. I guess I really don't need to study that night... and I don't have any other plans..."

That was as far as he got; he was interrupted by Lita and Ami's departure:

"Thank you SO much Darien! I'll see you at the front of the Junior High on Thursday Night at seven!"  
"Thanks for helping out, Darien!"

And the girls were gone out the door in a flash. They turned the corner and high-fived: Darien had fallen for their trap, hook, line, and sinker!

&

Now, Darien and Lita were sitting in the audience, watching the Talent Show. Ami's reading had gone perfectly; she had the audience sitting on the edge of their seats with anticipation the entire time!

Now... it was time for them to leave, but Lita had to get him to stay somehow...

"Why do you want to stay, Lita?" Darien asked while Molly was onstage twirling batons to music.

"Uhmm... Molly's performing again later! Yeah! Don't you want to see her again? She's doing such a good job, isn't she?" Lita whispered to Darien, thinking at the same time, _Serena comes on after this... Just a little while longer..._

&

Serena was extremely nervous, standing sidestage at the Crossroads Junior High School Talent Show.

She was about to go out on stage, to sing a song that she had chosen that summed up the feelings inside her heart. It was an assignment from Ms. Haruna; she had felt that Serena needed an outlet to express her feelings, and in return for doing this, Serena wouldn't have to do Detention after school for a whole month! Ms. Haruna just wanted an excuse to get home earlier than usual for a month, but that was okay. She might as well encourage Serena to be more outgoing.

Needless to say, Serena had jumped at the chance, even though it was less than a week before the performance. Now, she was standing there, her knees about to buckle, she was so nervous. _I can't do this... I can't let everyone at school know about this part of me... can I?_

Of course, Serena had chosen a song that expressed her feelings for Darien. Darien had broken up with her for no reason... and she had no idea why. It couldn't be because of Rini the Spore, who irritated her at every chance, so what was wrong? Serena had found the perfect song that conveyed her message to Darien, though she would never have the nerve to sing it in front of him.

When she asked the choral director at her school to be her accompianist, she found that she was actually able to sing the song... with a sense of stage presence, too!

Tonight, Serena also got a little bit of help from the Silver Imperium Crystal, changing her form to Princess Serenity. People backstage just thought that Serena had gone all out on make-up and her wardrobe, so no one knew her secret: that she was a Princess of the Moon.

Now, Molly ran off the stage in her sequined twirling outfit, shining from the time in the spotlight. "Oh, Serena! You are going to do wonderful! Break a leg!" she whispered into Serena's ear as she went by.

&

Lita had excused herself to go to the restroom, leaving a poor Darien alone in the Auditorium for the next act. Little did he know that Lita had immediately rushed sidestage, to stand with Raye, Mina, Ami, and Ms. Haruna to listen to Serena sing! Needless to say, they had this all figured out!

The lights dimmed and the ammouncer spoke into the mike. "And here is our very own Serena Tsukino, singing a song from the heart! Let's give her a good welcome, shall we?" 

_WHAT?_ Darien thought, dumbfounded. I _thought she had other plans... oh, no! _He finally realized that he had been bamboozled by the Sailor Scouts into this compromising situation. He started to stand up, but then he heard Serena's strangely-confident voice come from the speaker above the stage, and he took his seat again.

"I wish to dedicate this song to my soulmate. He probably isn't here tonight, but this song is for him."

Darien closed his eyes, thinking, _Oh, Serena... I wish that I could be with you... but I can't..._

As he opened his eyes, the accompianist began to play. The lights slowly came up, and his Princess stood on the stage, moonmark and all, bathed in lights that made her look like the Moon Princess she truly was.

All Darien could think of was how beautiful his Princess looked on the stage.

Serena, as Princess Serenity, began to sing, shaky at first, but growing more confident, since she couldn't see anyone in the audience, much less Darien, due to the bright spotlight in her eyes.

_**I wanna be the face you see when you close your eyes**_**_  
__I wanna be the touch you need every single night_  
_I wanna be your fantasy and be your reality and everything between_**

_I want you to need me like the air you breathe_  
_I want you to feel me in everything_  
_I want you to see me in your every dream_  
_The way that I taste you, feel you, breathe you, need you_  
_I want you to need me like I need you_

As Serena sang, she began to walk down the stage, using gestures to emphasize the rise and fall of the music and lyrics. The stage lights slowly came up as she warmed up the auditorium with her musical statement to her one and only.

_This isn't so hard_... And she lost herself in the music, as did her soulmate, in the audience.

_**I wanna be the eyes that look deep into your soul**_**_  
__I wanna be the world to you, I just want it all_  
_I wanna be your deepest kiss, the answer to your every wish, and all you ever need_**

_I want you to need me like the air you breathe_  
_I want you to feel me in everything_  
_I want you to see me in your every dream_  
_The way that I taste you, feel you, breathe you, need you_  
_I want you to need me..._

_'Cause I need you more than you could know_  
_And I need you to never, never let me go!_  
_And I need to be deep inside your heart_

_I just want to be everywhere you are!_

_I wanna be the face you see when you close your eyes_  
_I wanna be the touch you need every single night_  
_I wanna be your fantasy and your reality and everything between_

Serena's voice took on a suddenly softer tone, and she stopped moving around the stage, making a subtle change in her declaration of love.

_**I want you to need me like the air you breathe**_**  
_I want you to feel me in everything_  
_I want you to see me in your every dream_  
**  
Serena suddenly stepped forward, her hair falling around her, a passion in her eyes Darien had never seen before.

_**I taste you, feel you, breathe you, need you**_**__**

_I want you to need me like the air you breathe_  
_I want you to feel me in your everything_  
_I want you to see me in your every dream_  
_'Cause, baby, that I taste you, feel you, breathe you, need you_

_I want you to need me_  
_like I need you_  
_like I need you_  
_like I need you..._  
  
The music and lights died down to nothing, and the audience burst into applause, jumping out of their seats for a standing ovation. Among them, a dark-haired, tall, midnight blue-eyed man just sat there in astonishment, too dumbfounded to move.

&

Serena walked across the stage in the empty auditorium still wearing her Princess Serenity dress. She was exhausted from using the Silver Crystal to maintain the Princess Serenity identity for such a long time; she had had to show up like that at 5, and now it was 10:30. _I didn't think I'd have to stay transformed so long.._.

Strangely enough, when she looked in the mirror after she detransformed, the gold Crescent Moon had not faded from her forehead. So, she just transformed back, and decided to deal with it at home.

As she reached the center of the stage, she paused and looked out over the empty seats... and saw one still occupied. It was Darien. She could have recognized his dark-haired locks anywhere; after all, he was her soulmate, wasn't he?

Darien stood up and walked out to the aisle, and walked down to the front of the stage silently, his gaze looking down. When he got up to her, he knelt on one knee, his green jacket fading with golden light as he transformed into Prince Endymion. He reached for her hand, which had dropped her duffel bag to the floor, forgotten.

"Serena... I heard your song tonight... and I am SO sorry that I have hurt you." He looked up into her saphirre blue eyes. "You are the world to me, and I never wanted to let you go."

"But why did you, then?" Serena finally found her voice, tears coming to her eyes.

Darien looked down at the floor then, and told her what had been happening over the past few weeks. "I see you in my dreams... it starts out as a wonderful picture... but then it changes into disaster. A voice tells me that if I am close to you, then you will be hurt, and I won't let that happen. I won't." He grasped her hand tightly, to emphasize his point.

"Oh, Darien... you won't be with me because you want to protect me? From your dream?" Serena dropped to her knees with Darien and looked into his midnight blue eyes, surprised to see that they were glistening with tears.

Darien nodded. "I care for you so much, Serena. More than anything in the world. We are destined to be together, I know it. But, this dream is too real to let go. I see it everywhere... during sunlight or moonlight, it doesn't matter."

Serena fell into his arms then, holding him tight as he wrapped his arms around her. "Oh, Darien! I wish you had told me about this!"

He put his face down next to the top of her head, breathing deeply the scent of her hair and perfume. "I wish I did... I only just now got the courage to... because of what you did tonight. I need you, Serena. I do. You are everything to me..." and he pulled her to her feet, still wrapped in his embrace. He began to slow dance as he sang to her softly:

_**You are the face I see when I close my eyes**_**_  
__You are the touch I need every single night_  
_You are my fantasy, and you're my reality and everything_  
_between_**

_I need you like the air I breathe_  
_I see you in everything_  
_I see you in my every dream_  
_I taste you, feel you, breathe you, need you..._

_And you say you need me... like I need you._

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_Fin_  
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_**updated: Sa.11.June.2005**_

_**Re-formatted: Sa.23.Sept.2006**_

_**Feedback is appreciated, please click the box below.**_

_**I have taken a lot of liberties with this fic, probably altering personalities to make the story work. It's a change from the other stories you may read around, but it's a story that I've wanted to write for a long time. I'm also assuming that you know the characters, so no last names are in this story.**_

_**Disclaimer: "I Want You to Need Me" is an original song from Céline Dion's "All the Way: A Decade of Song" album. Please do not sue me, Céline! And of course, Naoko owns the characters, I just take them out to play once in a while.**_


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